Wipes are widely known to be useful to for removing contaminants from a variety of surfaces and/or applying compositions to a variety of surfaces. Wipes are commonly sold in containers or tubs designed to store a plurality of wipes in an interior storage space and to dispense the wipes individually through an orifice in the top of the container. The wipes may be stored in a tub, e.g., as an interleaved stack, so that when a wipe is removed from the tub, another wipe will at least partially extend through the orifice. In this way, a user is able to access the next wipe in the stack without having to open the container. In conventional wipes tubs, the orifice is generally stationary. That is, the orifice cannot be easily repositioned in relation to the wipes inside the container, and as the supply of wipes is depleted, the distance between the orifice and the top of the stack of wipes increases. In the event that a wipe falls back inside the wipes container, it may be difficult for a user to access the wipe through the orifice. As the distance between the orifice and the top of the wipe stack increases, it may become more difficult for a user to access a wipe that has fallen back into the container. Thus, to ensure a wipe is desirably positioned for use, a user may have to undesirably open the wipes container and manually position the next wipe in the orifice. Despite the efforts of manufacturers to eliminate fall-back in wipes containers, the phenomenon continues to be a problem in the industry.
In addition to the problem of fall-back, another undesirable aspect of some conventional wipes containers is the inability to prevent moisture loss. Some wipes include a benefit composition containing water (e.g., wet-wipes) and/or one or more volatile component(s) such as alcohol. The water, in the form of water vapor, and/or the volatile component(s) typically occupy the so-called free space inside the wipes container. If a wipes container is not properly sealed, the water vapor and/or volatile components may escape from the container to the external environment and reduce the beneficial effects of the benefit composition. Some conventional wipes tubs may include a lid to cover the orifice, and thereby reduce the area through which the moisture can escape. The lid may be configured to fit against a seal or gasket to further reduce the area around the edges of the lid through which moisture or other volatile components can escape. Additionally, manufacturers may make the containers out of a water and/or vapor impermeable material (e.g., injection molded polyolefin). However, despite such efforts, the lid must be opened at least occasionally in order to access a wipe. When the lid is opened, the water vapor and/or volatile components present in the interior storage space may escape. If the lid is left open (e.g., inadvertently or to keep from having to reopen the wipes container during the performance of another task such as a diaper change), then the amount of water vapor and/or volatile component(s) that escape from the tub may increase. As the stack of wipes in a wipes container becomes depleted and the amount of free space in the interior storage space increases, there is more space for water vapor and/or volatile components to occupy.
Yet another undesirable feature sometimes associated with disposable wiping products is the effect of chaining. Chaining is generally recognized as the failure of two or more wipes to separate when a wipe is extracted from the container, thereby forming a chain of extracted wipes. When chaining occurs, the undesired wipe(s) that are extracted from the container must typically be used, discarded or put back into the container. Using or discarding the undesired wipes may result in undesirable waste or inconvenience. For example, when changing a diaper on a child, the caregiver of the child may have one hand occupied with the child, dirty diaper, or other task. By pulling more than one wipe out of the container, the caregiver must now make a choice to either use all of the extracted wipes at one time or to separate the wipes. Separating the wipes with only one hand may require placing at least some of the undesired wipes on a surface that is potentially polluted with dirt, bodily waste, or any number of other contaminants. Putting the undesired wipes back into the container, especially in instances where a user only has one available hand, may result in further inconvenience.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a wipes container that reduces the likelihood of fall-back. It would also be desirable to provide a wipes container that reduces the likelihood of water vapor and/or volatile components escaping from the wipes container. It would further be desirable to provide a wipes container with an extendable orifice. It would yet further be desirable to provide wipes container with an extendable orifice that can provide a space for storing unused wipes.